Joe Perry was rushed to a New York City hospital after joining Billy Joel on stage at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 10, TMZ reports.
After performing "Walk This Way" with the piano man during Billy's concert, the Aerosmith guitarist, 68, went back to his dressing room where he collapsed, TMZ explains. "[He] looked terrible," a source connected with the concert told TMZ, which further reports that paramedics worked on Joe for about 40 minutes in his dressing room, where there was a panicked vibe.
Paramedics also gave Joe oxygen and inserted a tracheal tube, sources told TMZ. "Joe did not look good," said an eyewitness. Joe was wheeled out of the venue on a stretcher after paramedics and security guards cleared a path through a swath of people at the crowded concert.
Billy, 69, was unaware of the crisis unfolding backstage, TMZ reports, as he was still onstage finishing his show.
On Sunday morning, Nov. 11, TMZ updated its story, citing sources connected to Joe who revealed that the rocker was still in the hospital but awake and eager to go home, possibly as early as Sunday afternoon. Joe, they said, has been dealing with congestion in his lungs and having "breathing issues for the last few weeks and it came to a head last night."
Hours later, a rep for the rocker released a statement regarding his condition and informed fans that Joe remained in the hospital, but was stable.
"Following a guest performance during Billy Joel's show last night at Madison Square Garden, Joe Perry experienced shortness of breath and was treated backstage by paramedics who gave the guitarist oxygen and used a tracheal tube to clear his airway before taking him to a hospital," the rep explained. "This morning Perry remains in the hospital where he is alert and responsive. The Aerosmith guitarist will be unable to appear today at Rock And Roll Fantasy Camp in Florida and apologizes to those attending. Perry is expected to return to the road later this month."
Joe, who's also in the band Hollywood Vampires with Johnny Depp and Alice Cooper, had recently announced a new single and solo tour, reports Deadline, which also confirmed news of Joe's collapse. Joe is also slated to perform with Aerosmith at their new Las Vegas residency in 2019.
In July 2016, Joe was rushed to a hospital after collapsing onstage while performing with the Hollywood Vampires in Brooklyn. Reports initially claimed he'd suffered a cardiac arrest, though bandmate Alice later said dehydration and exhaustion were to blame.
"He told me the night before he hadn't eaten in two days," Alice told Rolling Stone, adding that the medical emergency "scared the hell out of me… It was not a heart attack; it was pure exhaustion. They checked his heart and said his heart was actually very strong."